


part ii

by duelistkingdom



Series: nightmares [2]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Fix-It, M/M, Nightmares, Post canon, Post-Canon Fix-It, atem has a nightmare, but then i figured, it's basically the original concept flipped, now yugi gets to comfort atem, yeah the original was meant to be a stand alone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 07:55:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26848537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duelistkingdom/pseuds/duelistkingdom
Summary: atem has a nightmare
Relationships: Atem/Mutou Yuugi, Mutou Yuugi/Yami Yuugi, Puzzleshipping - Relationship
Series: nightmares [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1957105
Comments: 4
Kudos: 36





	part ii

**Author's Note:**

> thank u to ruby for beta'ing this.

Atem’s nightmares generally were hard to explain. Some of them he was stumbling around through darkness and calling out for Yugi with no reply. Sometimes it felt like he was being watched, but every time he turned around, there was nothing but more darkness. Other times it was like he was trapped in his last day alive... ever since getting his memories back, it was like his mind wanted to fixate on that death. Out of all the memories he had to fixate on, that was the one that came through the clearest, and perhaps it had just been driven home by the shadow RPG he’d been forced to play. He dreamt of betrayal and being stabbed in the gut by someone he trusted the most. Sometimes the face would change. However, the worst of all were the ones that started with smoke.

The fire blazed around and the puzzle was shattered... Atem was shattered. Helpless to do anything, helpless to help. He would hear Yugi’s voice, hissing as he put each piece of the puzzle back together in a burning room. He was aware of what was happening. He was aware and there was nothing he could do about it. Suddenly, the dream deviated from what happened that day. This time, there was no light, no sounds of Jonouchi and Honda attempting to free the puzzle, nothing. Everything was dark and Atem could feel in his gut something horrible happened. If Yugi had never come to have the puzzle, then Yugi would still be here. Yugi’s hands would be undamaged. This was all his fault.

Something happened while he was chained to the puzzle, unable to help. In fact, he was starting to lose grip on reality entirely. He suddenly couldn’t remember anything but darkness. He deserved this, really. It was his fault, after all. It was slipping away, twisting up and then it shifted again. He was standing in front of Pandora but something was very wrong. Something wasn’t right. He realized what was wrong: he was losing and he was losing bad. Nothing in his hand could turn this around. And he realized, with horror, that Yugi was going to die as a result of his failure. The blades would sink into Yugi’s legs and Yugi would bleed out here on this floor in this basement far away from their friends. The Eye of Horus burnt into Yugi’s palm stared up at him judgmentally – a reminder of another time he had failed to protect Yugi. He stared deep into the Eye, begging for answers to help save Yugi. He didn’t care if he died, so long as Yugi would be fine. This was all his fault.

The dream shifted once more and he was sinking. The ocean was all around him and he could do nothing to save Jonouchi nor Yugi. They were both going to die and it was his fault. The burns on Yugi’s hands never faded from view despite the darkening of the ocean around them. This was all his fault.

It didn’t let him, twisting around as he stood on the green seal and realized it was there because he played it. Yugi was gone, gone, and he feared it was forever. It was his fault. Yugi had told him not to play it and he did anyway. He hadn’t known that he was risking Yugi’s soul and by the gods, he wished he could take it back. No amount of begging changed it, nothing brought Yugi back to him. It was all his fault. This was all his fault.

And suddenly, he awoke with a start and realized that there were tears that were threatening to spill. He sat up, surprised to see that he had been dreaming. Really, dreaming was a foreign concept to Atem after spending three thousand years unable to sleep at all. Even when Yugi’s soul had been temporarily gone from their shared body, Atem didn’t dream when he “slept” and it could even be argued that he wasn’t really sleeping when he was using Yugi’s body full-time. It had been hard to explain to their friends exactly the inner workings, but it was more like when he had “slept” as a ghost in Yugi’s body, it was more like he was simply allowing the body itself to rest. Ergo, having his own body that actually did dream and did allow him to sleep was entirely new. So far, he did not like it.

For a minute, he considered Yugi’s room. For him, this had been home for the past four years and with the memories Yugi had shared with him, he knew this room far better than his own ancient bedroom. He knew the games that sat on the bookshelf and which ones were missing pieces. He knew the books on there as well. He even knew the small TV and video game consoles were Christmas gifts from his mother when Yugi was eight. Examining the room as a reminder of the fact that he was alive and in his own body helped calm his rapid heartbeat. Next to him, Yugi shifted in his sleep to rest on his side and curl up on the pillow.

Yugi insisted he didn’t snore. However, right now, with Yugi’s gentle snoring, Atem could only smile. He’d known for the past four years that Yugi snored, but it was the first time it meant that he’d have a little bit of a hard time falling back asleep. So, he didn’t. Instead he merely watched Yugi, his hand reaching to lightly touch Yugi’s cheek. Being able to touch Yugi and feel his warmth would never get old, Atem decided. Earlier tonight, Atem had helped Yugi to undress for bed. It wasn’t as easy as when he would just take over Yugi’s body and do it for him, but he tried anyway. It was interesting to see the blush appear on Yugi’s cheeks when Atem had unbuttoned Yugi’s shirt... the hitch in his breath when Atem’s fingers had undid his pants... a lovely memory, Atem decided. Why his brain never conjured up those kinds of memories when he was sleeping, he’d never know.

He traced out the details of Yugi’s face, admiring the way his skin felt so smooth under his fingertips. He tried to avoid looking at the puckered skin and the unsettling appearance of skin still gashed open from flames. Instead, he focused on anywhere else but Yugi’s hands. He focused on how soft Yugi’s cheeks felt when he pressed his hand against his cheek. He focused on the soft snores coming from Yugi and wondered what Yugi was dreaming about. He knew now that Yugi had nightmares too and he wished he could make them stop. If there was anyone on this Earth who deserved nothing but the best, it was Yugi... at least, in his opinion.

Underneath him, Yugi stirred and his eyes opened slowly to stare into Atem’s eyes. “Sorry,” Atem whispered, cautious of the others that lived in the house with them. “Did I wake you?”

Yugi shook his head before moving to press a soft kiss to Atem’s lips, his arms more than eagerly wrapping around Atem. This surprised Atem but he was more than happy to take it. Being able to actually physically touch Yugi was a sensation he’d never get enough of. To actually feel the heat radiating from Yugi, to actually hold Yugi close to him, to taste his lips... all of it was overwhelming at times. It made his head feel rather light, actually. Yugi pulled away before whispering, “Any reason you’re awake, other me?”

Now that was a question that Atem did not want to answer. He wanted to go back to kissing Yugi... maybe even doing a little more than kissing with Yugi. Unfortunately, he couldn’t bring himself to ignore the question. “I... had a nightmare,” Atem admitted, not exactly relishing in the way Yugi’s eyes seemed to slightly narrow with concern. “It was... nothing, really. Just the standard nightmare.”

A month ago, Yugi had admitted to Atem that he was having nightmares about Atem having to leave. He had no idea that Atem was facing a similar problem when he tried to sleep. Then again... it made sense now. Every time Yugi woke in the middle of the night, Atem was almost always either awake himself or not far behind in terms of waking up. He had just assumed that Atem needed less sleep but now he realized that was a foolish belief. “Standard,” Yugi asked as he moved to gently cup Atem’s cheek, “You mean you’ve been having nightmares before? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Atem gave Yugi a wry smile before noting, “You didn’t exactly tell me you were having nightmares until very recently either, aibou,” he pointed out. “Besides... it’s… nothing, really.”

Yugi flushed at that before shaking his head. “You shouldn’t have to go through this alone,” he insisted, pressing a quick kiss against Atem’s neck. “Please... tell me what it was about.”

Atem stiffened despite himself. No matter how loving Yugi’s touches were, the image of Yugi’s burned hands flashed in his head. Those were his fault. And if he reminded Yugi of every reason to not stay... he couldn’t bring himself to finish the thought. It was an unfair thought. Not only that, it was selfish. Then again, Atem had already been so selfish in staying with Yugi, damn the consequences. “Fire,” he finally said, quietly, his hands moving to grab both of Yugi’s and hold them close to his chest. “And... how many times you were almost lost to me. How it was my fault. Aibou, I am so sorry -”

“Don’t you dare apologize,” Yugi cut him off, a fierce look in his eyes. Atem was startled, his grip loosening, but Yugi covered Atem’s hands again. Atem gazed down at Yugi’s hold on him, frowning as he noted the scars that were all his fault. “It’s not your fault my hands are scarred, other me. I chose to stay in that fire to save you because I could not stand the idea of losing you. I was terrified in that blaze, yes, but not for my own safety. For _you_. I stayed for you and I don’t regret it. These scars are symbols of my devotion to you, other me.”

With that, Atem gazed up into Yugi’s eyes and the look was still fierce but now Atem could fully understand what was in them: love. Pure, unadulterated love. For him. It made Atem’s head spin. Once again, he wondered how he got so lucky to have someone as wonderful as Yugi actually love him. Not only that... all he could focus on was how Yugi viewed the scars upon his hands. Not as proof of a failure to be protected by him, but as proof of devotion. Atem simply couldn’t regard them in the same way that Yugi did. No matter what, all he’d ever see was a time he failed to protect Yugi from harm. He had taken it upon himself to protect Yugi, yes, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t take that role seriously.

Not only that, it was unfair. Atem’s body held no such similar scars, no such sign of how he was willing to give his life to protect Yugi. He had nothing to show for the time he shared a body with Yugi. Any scar he’d discovered on his body was a scar from when he had been pharaoh. Any scar he might’ve gotten from protecting Yugi was... on Yugi’s body. He knew Yugi’s body better than his own. After all, he’d spent four years using it as his own when he did not have a flesh and blood body. He could point out every scar on Yugi’s body and know exactly where Yugi got it from. Even the ones that had nothing to do with him.

Still, gazing into Yugi’s eyes, he knew better than to argue. Yugi had always told him that if they were a team, then Yugi had a duty to protect him as well. This was something that he never found a counter-argument for and so he simply considered the matter closed. Still, he wondered if Yugi resented him for the lack of scars upon his body due to the journey they had went through together. “Aibou... it’s not just the fire I dream of,” he said. “I’ve... I’ve got so many regrets. I’m the reason you even have nightmares to begin with. How many times were you threatened because of me? And... not only that... I failed so many times at keeping you safe. I let the dark win once and you were lost because of it and I can’t even begin...”

“That was my choice too,” Yugi said, well aware what he was referring to. He sometimes had nightmares of the seal too. Of watching Atem be corrupted by its dark influence and refusing to listen to him. Of going against Yugi’s wishes. That had terrified him, but what scared him even more was the idea of Atem never coming back from the seal’s dark influence. “I chose to be taken by the seal to save you. Because even then, I loved you. I still love you, other me. I’m just grateful that the seal’s influence over you didn’t stick.”

It wasn’t the first time Yugi had ever told Atem that he loved him, but it still never failed to make Atem breathless when he heard Yugi say those words. It was something to relish, after all. Yugi loved him and for that, he was grateful. For that, he would never stop being grateful. Being loved by Yugi made Atem feel like he could be a better person. That he could be worthy of bathing in the light. He wasn’t sure why Yugi bothered with him still. “Aibou,” he whispered, desperate to explain himself. He couldn’t begin to explain his love for Yugi. It was thanks to Yugi that he was even alive and whole. He would’ve been left to wander the darkness if it hadn’t been for Yugi.

Yugi didn’t need Atem to say anything, however. Yugi pressed in, granting Atem yet another kiss. Atem let himself drown in it, and he didn’t care if he ever surfaced again. Every single kiss felt like it was granted by the Gods themselves, a taste of heaven. In fact, at this point, Atem was certain that no heaven would ever be complete without Yugi’s gentle, loving kiss. He could never get enough. Yugi had smirked up against Atem’s lips before flipping them around, pinning Atem beneath him. And when Yugi’s lips pressed to his jawline, he knew that for the rest of the night, neither of them would be thinking about nightmares.


End file.
